you are on the "washington journal." caller: i want to know if there are any ethical things you would have to sign. when i joined the government, i had to sign some papers that said i did not belong to certain organizations. i did not know if there any ethical issues that might come up if one of the congressman decided he wanted to join the communist party and signed a pledge to overthrow the government of the united states. i think it is illegal to do that. i do not know where you draw the line ethically as to whether you could sign a pledge to somebody outside. that is almost like signing a treaty. you have to go through the congress. if house to be signed by the president. i want to know how deep the essex get. guest: they have to sign and take an oath when they become members. the ethics regime is probably the most severe and regimented of almost any profession. their entire personal wealth and assets are a matter of public record. they have to find -- file annual financial disclosure forms. their children's and spou